By Lola Augustine Brown
After a 50-year career in country music, Glen Campbell has said goodbye to his fans with the poignantly titled Adiós, his 64th studio album, released June 10. Now in the final stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, Campbell was able to record this farewell album with the help or colleagues, friends, and family. Three of his children, including country star Ashley Campbell, provide the harmony on the Jimmy Webb song “Postcard From Paris.”
A collection of songs that Campbell loved and wanted to record and share, Adiós contains works by artists including Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, Jerry Reed, as well as three more songs by Webb, famous for creating—among many other hits—the Campbell classics “Wichita Lineman” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” There are moments when you hear Campbell’s struggle, and you can’t help feel the emotion that comes with that.
The album was produced by longtime friend and band member Carl Jackson, who told National Public Radio that while the ability to remember the lyrics was the first thing to go, Campbell never lost the melodies, or his beautiful pitch and tone.
Campbell was prolific after announcing his diagnosis in 2011, releasing a new album of original material, Ghost on the Canvas, that year and a re-recording of ’60s hits called See You There in 2013, following his 2011-12 “Goodbye Tour.”
Image: Steve Silvas.
